International Micropatriological Society

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International Micropatriological Society
AbbreviationIMS
Formation1973
FounderFrederick W. Lehmann
Christopher Martin
Dissolved1988
Headquarters4554 McPherson Avenue, St Louis, Michigan, United States 63108
130 Wooton Road, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England

The International Micropatrological Society (IMS; French: Société internationale de micropatrologie) — retroactively the International Micropatriological Society — was a not-for-profit research institute dedicated to the study of microstates and micronations. Founded in 1973 and disestablished in 1988, the IMS's goal was to "increase the knowledge of small nations and little-known nations." The organisation coined the word micropatriology (originally micropatrology). According to micropatriologist Zabëlle Skye, it was the first organisation to professionally study micronations. It had locations in St Louis, United States, and Norfolk, England.[1]

History

The IMS was founded in 1973[2] by Frederick W. Lehmann IV, who hailed from St. Louis, the United States, and Christopher Martin of London, England. According to former member and micronationalist David Billington, the organisation had twelve members during the late 1970s.[3] In 1977, documents from the IMS supporting the legitimacy of the Most Serene Federal Republic of Montmartre were used in a court case by Montmartre President Barry Alan Richmond to advocate for the micronation's inclusion in the phone directory of New York Telephone.[4] The IMS contributed its research to Erwin Strauss's 1979 How to Start Your Own Country about micronations.[5] In 1980, the organisation became dormant. John D. Squires's The Redonda Legend: A Bibliography cites a work by Lehmann dated 20 February 1985 titled "International Micropatrological Society Update," which possibly concerned the future of the IMS.[6] According to the Union of International Associations, the IMS officially disbanded in 1988.[7]

Assessment

The IMS classified micronations in five different categories of seriousness, with only T and O having the possibility of international recognition:[8]

  • B—bogus
  • E—extinct
  • F—fiction
  • T—traditional
  • O—other

See also

References

  1. Strauss 1999 [1979], p. 162.
  2. Moreau, Terri Ann (2014). Subversive Sovereignty: Parodic Representations of Micropatrias Enclaved by the United Kingdom (thesis). University of London. p. 51. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. Billington, David (n.d.). "The International Micropatrological Society". Micropatrology and My Interest in Navassa. Archived. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. "Ma Bell v. Montmartre: A Ruritanian Melodrama". 18 July 1977. New York Magazine. Vol. 10, no. 29. p. 56. "Documents from the International Micropatriological Society, the world authority on tiny nations, supporting the legitimacy of Montmartre." Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  5. Strauss 1999 [1979], p. III "Acknowledgments".
  6. Squires, John D. (25 July 2000). The Redonda Legend: A Bibliography (draft). Archived. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  7. International Micropatrological Society (IMS) at the Global Civic Society Database. Union of International Associations (UIA). Archived. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  8. Bongartz, Roy (28 March 1976). "Nations Off the Beaten Track". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2022 — via the New York Times Archives.

Citations